You have to go all the way back to the 1993-94 season to find the last time the Tamaqua boys’ basketball team cut down the nets at Martz Hall, site of the annual Schuylkill League championships.

Jim Barron and the Blue Raiders would like to end that 23-year drought this season.

“I try to focus on one game at a time, but hopefully by the end of the year come league time we’re right in the thick of the league playoffs and we put ourselves in the position to be there,” said Barron, now in his third season as the Blue Raiders’ head coach. “I think we’re good enough to do that if we show up to play every night.”

Barron’s and the team’s confidence centers around the return of their unquestioned leader, Thad Zuber. The 6-foot-1 senior brings skill, toughness and leadership to the court when he laces up the sneakers each winter.

“If there’s one kid you don’t want to lose it’s Thad Zuber,” Barron said during the team’s recent media day. “The last two years he’s led us in rebounds, points, steals and assists. Every time he comes back it’s very relieving to me to have him back to carry the team.”

A point guard by trade, Zuber can play all five positions on the court. His well-balanced game sets the tone for the Blue Raiders. Last season he showed the way in scoring (12.0 ppg), rebounding (6.4), assists (3.2) and steals (1.7) not to mention defense and toughness.

“Zuber will probably play 1, 2, 3 and 4 for me this year,” Barron said, referring to both guard and both forward positions. “The only reason he wouldn’t play the 5 is he won’t be our tallest player on the court.

“We’re a tough team this year. We’re going to be more physical than we have been in the past,” added Barron. “When you’re led by Thad, he’s a tough kid and we try to generate our toughness off of Thad.”

Three other seniors will also play vital roles for the Blue Raiders: Gabe Gregoire, Casey Rother and Mitch Kurek.

“Gabe has played solid minutes in each of the last two years. He started for us last year and

came off the bench for us as a sophomore,” Barron said of the 6-1 forward-center, who averaged 5.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season. “He’s a great kid, plays his heart out, and is a great defender.”

The 6-4 Rother, a standout on both the Tamaqua baseball and football teams, brings size, athleticism and experience to the lineup. He averaged 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 points per contest a year ago.

“He’s not what you would call a basketball player, but he’s just a heck of an athlete and a good kid to have on the court,” Barron said.

Barron is expecting big things from Kurek, a 6-foot forward who saw action in 13 games as a junior.

“Mitch is a two-sport athlete, he’s athletic and does everything I ask of him,” Barron said. “He can jump out of the gym, and he’s going to step in and give us quality minutes this year.”

The fifth starter will be sophomore sharpshooter Brayden Knoblauch, who was second on the team in scoring (11.0 ppg) and hit a team-leading 48 3-pointers as a freshman. Knoblauch missed the preseason recovering from a football injury suffered in the Blue Raiders’ playoff game last month, and might not be ready until somewhere around Christmas.

“Brayden started 20 games for us last year, and came in as a freshman and shot the ball really well for us. Once he comes back and is healthy, he’s our best shooter,” Barron said. “With a guy like Thad who comes down the middle in the paint and draws a lot of attention, he’s able to find Brayden on the perimeter to knock down some shots.”

Barron said the team will have to make due without Knoblauch for at least the first few weeks.

“We don’t have another lights-out shooter like Brayden but we do have some guys who can shoot it a little bit. We’re hoping to get Brayden back after five games,” Barron said. “I know he’s chomping at the bit. We don’t want to rush him back and then lose him for the rest of the year.”

Barron has at least three more players he is counting on to provide key minutes and added depth for the Blue Raiders — 6-3 sophomore Lucas Gregoire and juniors Derian Stianche (6-0) and Michael Bonetsky (5-6).

“Lucas is a long kid who has good footwork down in the paint. He’s going to see some quality minutes this year,” Barron said. “Derian and Michael came off the bench for us last year and played some quality minutes for the varsity. They’ll definitely see a bump in playing time without (graduated players (Zeke) Wassell and (Dylan) Scott back there. We’re probably going to go nine deep and those guys are really going to pitch in for us.”

Barron’s squad is an athletic one, with several multi-sport athletes suiting up. He feels that will help them this season.

“We’re definitely athletic. If you watched the football season, I’ve got a lot of football players,” Barron said. “A lot of these kids can do a lot of different things. It’s nice to have that kind of athleticism on the court.”

The Blue Raiders climbed from 6-16 to 13-10 in Barron’s first two years on the bench. He’s hoping this year the team will continue the progression.

“My first year we didn’t have a whole lot of experience, and I played a lot of sophomores,” he explained. “Last year’s juniors they really stepped up and helped us take the next step with the program.”

Part of that next step is challenging for the Division I title and the league’s overall championship.

“In Division I, you’ve always got to think Pottsville. They’ve been there the last 8-9 years. It seems like whenever any of their guys leave, they just have kids who just fill right in to their spot. They bring back a lot of kids. They’re going to be right there again,” Barron said.

“Blue Mountain was league champions last year. They lost a lot of seniors but their coach does a great job and they had a good jayvee program last year, so they’ll be right in it.

“I think we can compete for the league,” Barron continued. “Last year we didn’t get quite where we needed to be. I’m hoping we can step up and compete with them and come league playoff time be in that 1 or 2 spot and play for a league title.”

Barron would also like to see his team advance further into the postseason. A year ago, the Blue Raiders were eliminated from the district playoffs in the quarterfinal round.

“We were one game away from qualifying for states last year, so there’s no reason we shouldn’t go and win two and qualify for states this year,” he said.

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